Charging a hose line with nozzle unattended

We respond with a two person engine in a small fire district. Driver is engineer passenger on hose.

Our SOP calls for the hose person to lay the 1.5" from a 2.5" y and close the nozzle. The hose person is then to put down the nozzle and go to the 2.5" y and charge the 1.5" line. The engineer would have charged the 2.5" line by this time. This means that the nozzle is unattended when being charged.

I have seen hoses extend in length and twist on charging. If the bail of the nozzle should turn down into a rocky area, of which we have plenty, then the nozzle could open from the movement of the charging line. This would result in a wild hose situation.

I am trying to change our SOP to have the engineer open the 2.5" y and charge the 1.5 line while the hose person is in control of the nozzle. I could use my fellow firefighters input to aid in this change if the majority of your input is in favor.

If I am all wet on this subject, your input will still be appreciated.:)

So your nozzle man is stretching 2 1/2" line by himself and then stretching a 1 3/4" line by himself from that....while the Engineer is waiting for him to finish all that?

Two ball valves to open, twice the chance for water hammer. And wyes have shorter handles than apparatus valves, so it's even easier to hammer off a wye than off the truck because you have less control. Why not go ahead and open the wye before flaking out the 1 3/4"? It's not much of a risk, but it's a good excuse.

With your current practice, you could avoid a wild hose situation by remaining at the wye until the hose stops moving, then returning to the nozzle.

Um, why don't you have preconnected hoselines? One guy can pull 250' of triple load very easily and be on the nozzle. That line can easily be charged in 20-30 seconds from the time the truck is put into pump gear. Seems like you're working too hard.
A hose will almost always move in the direction of the nozzle when charged, making the chances of the bale being opened likely.

Thank you for your input. We will do a little work on that SOP